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I would like to thank all of you for coming and celebrating this True Parents' birthday. All of us assembled in this auditorium have various, different backgrounds. We have had different ways of life in the past and come from various cultural backgrounds, and furthermore, in your ancestral lines there are combined a variety of situations, traditions and cultures. Even now our way of life is varied because of our different cultural backgrounds.
Even though our histories are different and our ways of life and traditions are different, our goal is the same. We have one common goal around which we gather together. The most important thing to determine is whether or not that goal is self-centered or world-centered. Indeed, our common goal is the benefit and well-being of the entire world. That common goal is truly the aspiration of all mankind, and some day when we reach that goal everyone on this earth will be happy. That ideal goal cannot happen by money alone, and no matter how much knowledge or power you might possess, they will not make that goal possible either. That goal must be everyone's aspiration, something which makes everyone on this earth happy and protects their well-being.
What is that common goal; how can we define it? We commonly call it love. We are talking about love here, and must decide whether that love is man's standard of love or whether it transcends man, whether that love should be changing and tarnished by time, or eternal and unchanging in character. Our common goal must be love, a love which must be eternal and absolute and unchanging in quality. If that kind of love is our goal and if there is a God, then it must be linked to Him.
The question is whether we as men can obtain that kind of love. If that permanent and eternal love is an obtainable goal, then we must consider first that the prerequisite to that love is the existence of God. Why couldn't an almighty and eternal God make that love prevail with men? Why hasn't it been fulfilled already? That is the fundamental question which all religious men of history have struggled with. The Unification Church is no exception; however, unlike the rest we know that mankind could not obtain this permanent and absolute love of God because of the fall of man.
Then what is the fall? In one word, the fall is departure-not departure from power or position or a certain understanding, but departure from the very love of God that we have been talking about. The perfection of men hinges upon that particular love, and once there is a way to obtain that love for man there will be perfection. If there is a God then He must be almighty, eternal and omnipresent, and then God's love must also be eternal and unchanging. Therefore, once we obtain that love then we obtain everything, including God and the universe.
Obtaining that love of God leads to perfection for everything. As you know, there are different parts in our physical bodies, but once that goal of love is obtained, every part of the body will respond to that love and give thanks. That particular love will also fulfill our spirit man. The spirit man and physical body are supposed to echo each other so that they can act as one in harmony. Actually, soundless, perfect harmony should be established between the two.
At what point can our spirit men and physical bodies be united? True music is the love of God. When the love of God resounds through the spirit man and physical body, they both respond to it in harmony together. Striking one object will create sound waves, and when they hit another object it will respond and create the same sound. In the same way, when God's love hits something it will resound throughout the universe, the spiritual and physical worlds together. When God's love reaches man, his entire body must unanimously respond to that vibration of love.
How would it feel to reverberate to the sound of love? When that wave of love hits you it will create absolute fullness in your spiritual and physical bodies, leaving no extra room available. That should be the feeling you get when the love of God hits you. It not only fills your entire body, however; it will remain forever, never disappearing. As a result you will become a dynamo, a central energy source for everything surrounding you, and in that atmosphere the whole environment will echo you.
Once that love of God fills you and you live in that love for ten, twenty or thirty years, you always know that the original source is God, who is constant, almighty and eternal. As long as He is supplying you with that energy of love, you are really pulled in His direction and are always moving closer to Him. We are guided by the direction of God's love. We are not like a ship without a compass; we have a compass which clearly shows due north. That is the direction of God, and is to set the direction of everyone's life. Every man is supposed to be perfected by going in that direction closer to God's love, and every woman is supposed to be perfected by going in that direction. Then along the way they can meet, together creating unity and perfecting their love, growing closer to and ultimately uniting with God. That is the ideal of creation.
If mankind were living in this natural pattern that God designed, would there normally be pain and suffering involved, or would life develop in a natural way? There would have been no haziness in life before the fall, only a clear-cut goal and direction ensuring that no one would live in chaos or confusion. In that world each person would know what kind of life he should live here on earth, and would clearly know that the end of life on earth is but the beginning of an eternal life. Happy men were supposed to be born of love, grow up and become perfect in love and totally unite with the source of love, which is God. Whoever lives such a life can be called a happy man. In that world, love is given equally to all and there each person has equal privilege. There each person can go in the same direction, dwell together in the same world and end up at the same goal. If that kind of world is available, there is no better ideal.
This means that money is not the ultimate goal, nor power or knowledge. Neither the democratic ideology nor communistic ideology is the ultimate goal. The realm of love transcends all these manmade ideologies and that is the world in which we are supposed to dwell. If we can grasp this much even in our limited brains, then how much bigger would the ideal be in the mind of God? God is much more knowledgeable and wise, and in His wisdom He is thinking of an even more beautiful realm of love.
Putting ourselves in the position of God for a moment, what would be the most ideal world we could construct? God has to come to the same conclusion that we have drawn: Unity in the world of love is the most ideal world God could design. If God is truly almighty then He would not design men to be born into suffering and grow up in pain, only to attain love at the very end. If that were the only happiness God could design, then He certainly could not be almighty. Then why is our world like this? Because of the fall, man departed from the position God originally designed for him in His ideal.
God and man were supposed to echo each other, but presently there is no connection between the two and each is going in a separate direction. That is a consequence of the fall. Furthermore, man's mind and body were supposed to parallel and echo each other, but they are separated as well. If this is the external result, then mustn't something be wrong with God? No, God has not changed; the error occurred in man, never in God. Therefore, we must remake and reassemble man. That is God's mandate.
The repair work cannot be done all at once, however. There must first be some step-by-step master plan which sets out principles for beginning restoration work. Then where can we start this work of restoration? It must begin with what is closest to God, something which God made first. Of the mind and body, which is closest to God? Of course the mind is closest, so naturally God started to straighten out the mind of man first.
Even though you are all looking in one direction, your minds are thinking about many things right at this moment. God's first mandate, therefore, is to straighten out the direction of the mind and bring all mankind's diverse thinking together into one common direction: the love of God. God must declare one ultimate destiny to all men, showing them what they need in order to become one with Him. All the minds of men should be brought to this one principle. In his mind, each man should understand the individual goal, tribal goal, national goal and world goal, and also how the same goal ultimately penetrates all of these. That's the way God started to work, giving instruction about what the mind should head toward.
This world is certainly chaotic and confused, but at least here in the Unification Church we have a goal and direction. We are not hazy or confused in our minds about our goal. Is our common goal to come to the Manhattan Center on February 12 and celebrate True Parents' birthday? If this celebration today is not the goal then why is it needed? We need it to stimulate our minds and thus expedite our journey to the ultimate goal. Some people may wonder why we don't have a simple celebration and a day of rest, instead of getting up early and having a full day of activities. Would you like an easier celebration? Some of your mouths are saying no, but your minds are saying yes!
Our common goal is the attainment of the love of God, and in order to fulfill it we must make a long journey. Naturally you need stimulation to spur yourselves on to attain that goal faster. The person who is really making efforts toward that goal is truly a happy person. Once you have found the ultimate goal, then the more you suffer, the more experience and stamina you will have to spur yourself on. Your struggle then becomes your asset.
For people like us who truly live with a high-minded goal, are suffering and pain necessarily evil things? Can the person who never suffered or felt pain appreciate the true value of happiness? If truth is obtained too easily then you will never appreciate it, but the person who pursues that truth, and finally obtains it one day, will be so appreciative that he will understand every bit of its value. If a great big blessing is bestowed upon a person who never experienced any suffering or hardship, he will just take it for granted and never know whether it is a diamond or a rock. Someone who really experiences suffering first hand, however, will understand the value of that love and will rejoice at obtaining that love and truth. The more you suffer, the more you will rejoice.
When you go to movies you don't want to watch the monotonous life of some common person; you want to see a dramatic life instead. What makes it dramatic? The high hills and low valleys of suffering, the narrow escapes from getting killed in the hero's search for love and truth all leave your blood boiling, and when he finds that love and truth you feel wonderful.
We are creating our own epic as we go toward the goal. First of all, we must ask whether there were people like us in history who tried to obtain high minded goals not only for themselves, but for the world. Even though there were many saints who lived noble lives, there was so much confusion about eternal life that they did not have the crystal-clear goal that we have. No one ever had the clear-cut goal we do. Since the value of our goal is so high, there is nothing we can reserve for anything else; we can truly commit everything we have for its accomplishment.
There are two kinds of Moonies, however. One kind is true and honest, while the other is false. Which one would you like to be? Maybe some pragmatic American mind might think, "I don't want to go to extremes. I don't want to be far-out like the true Moonie, or be a fraud either. I'll just be an in-between Moonie." There are hot, cold and lukewarm Moonies; which would you be?
Do you like white people or black people better? They are both extremes in color, but yellow is in between. You are really confused now, aren't you? If you like white men that's OK. White, black or whatever is determined by the color of your heart, not your skin. Even if a person is black, the color of his skin is irrelevant, for if his heart is truly burning with the original love of God then that person is whiter than white. When you wear eyeglasses of love you don't see just white skin or black skin. True love is what counts and nothing else matters.
When you look at the biological makeup of your body you see all different functions, but is there anything which is trying to bring all these activities into one harmonious standard? The eyes move as they please, the ears listen and all the limbs move in different directions. There seems to be no harmony. Imagine that both hands are trying to go in different directions but one hand says to the other, "I will take you in the right direction. Here is the source of love." Will the other hand draw back when it feels the warmth of love? No, it would want to stay. Once it is attached to the source of love, nothing can separate it. That's the power of love.
Love is the one power which will draw every bit of energy into one direction. The hands want to stay there, and the eyes want to move in that direction along with the nose and mouth and ears and the whole body. Love acts like a magnet. What about the mind; is it also pulled by the power of love? The mind is very greedy and has no barriers to disturb it, so it seeks to penetrate all the way into the core of the love of God. The mind wants to be close and it has a way of getting in. Only one power will activate your every organ toward one direction. Neither threats at gunpoint nor money will do it; only through the power of love can all the actions of your organs be focused in the same direction.
Why do men universally like women'? The amazing thing is that no matter how ugly a man is, he always looks for a beautiful woman. The uglier he is, the more beautiful is the woman he looks or. When you spot a beautiful woman then your eyes start to move, your hands and feet and everything start to move. Do women respond the same way to men or not'? If that urge or pull were activated only in men but not in women, then what would happen'? Do you think that would be very interesting? This is one example of the activation of love's power; we are automatically pulled to the source of love.
What about the love of God? Is it weaker or more vulnerable than the love of a beautiful woman or an ugly man'? The power of God's love is supreme, beyond any human love, and the desire to attain that love of God is the strongest in the world. No power can stop the urge to go toward the love of God. Lesser love can be sacrificed for greater love. In searching for the love of God, which is ultimate and supreme, you can sacrifice your love of women, love of family or nation, and even your own life.
The one man who really discovered that love and proclaimed its existence to the world was Jesus Christ. He was the embodiment of that love of God and he made the revolutionary proclamation, "If anyone loves mother or father more than me, he is not worthy of me." Jesus also said, "I am the way and the truth and the life, and no one comes to the Father but by me." Actually Jesus left out one important word. He should have said, "I am the way and the truth and the life and I am the love. Therefore, no one comes to the Father but by me."
Even the Bible did not give a clear definition of the ultimate goal, which is love. We must be born of love, grow in love and be perfected in love. Ultimately we will fulfill ourselves in love. Naturally when there is a resurrection of truth, way and life there will certainly be a resurrection of love, for love comes automatically. The ultimate thing is not the truth or the way, but love.
Suppose you attain that most intensive love of God. How much would you be grateful? Perhaps you would shout out so loud that the entire universe is torn apart. Even then you would not have exhausted your entire thanksgiving, for no shout can truly express enough thanks. Instead, you become so lost in that love that you forget about shouting, and without thinking you just murmur, "Thank you Father, thank you Father." Which is more dramatic?
When two lovers meet are they very formal, announcing, "My love, I am going to reach out and kiss you now"'? Wouldn't you rather forget being there in the intoxication of the moment, with love beautifully expressing itself even without your knowing it? Love can be expressed with great volume, or in total silence. Sometimes even your mouth might not move but your mind keeps talking. Which is much deeper'? One person might always be talking about love, while another never says, "I love you," but in his heart he is totally intoxicated in love. There is dramatic contrast in the Western and Oriental expressions of love. Westerners always say, "I love you," and kiss in public, but seldom do Korean husbands say, "I love you." There is a way to express deeper love by letting the mind talk.
Is a wave bigger in the deep or shallow part of the ocean? A shallow stream always makes noise because it is so active, but when you dive deeper and deeper into the ocean it becomes quite calm. We can conclude that the standard of measure should not be just in what you see. Can the invisible things be thought of as more precious? Suppose that love were visible, like a ball rolling around. Would you like that kind of love? God is precious, so imagine God being visible and walking the streets talking to everyone. If God limited Himself to one body so that everybody could know He is God, then a great nation like America could mobilize 240 million people and make Him a prisoner.
The most precious things of infinite value were made invisible, like love and like God. Your mind is precious; would you like to be able to see your mind and carry it around in your pocket like a handkerchief? The mind is precious because in that container alone can God be enclosed. Only an invisible container could contain the invisible God. This is the most precious thing of all, and nobody can take it away because no one knows where it is.
Imagine someone trying to carry a 100-carat diamond because he has nowhere to hide it. No matter how clever he is, someone is bound to discover his secret. If he hides it inside his leg then during the night his whole leg will disappear! You can be glad that God made love invisible and that no one can take it away. If love were visible then there would be no real taste to it and you would easily tire of it. Being invisible, however, love can be infinite. It can be round or sharp or long or wide.
When asked how love looks, one person will describe love as being round like the moon or wide like the ocean. Some harsh person might say love is like a wild desert. A romantic person might say it is like a beautiful, rocky mountain, while yet another person might say it is powerful like Niagara Falls. All these would be correct answers because they all describe certain aspects of love. Someone might say love is like a beggar, and that is a correct answer too. Someone might say love is smoother than glass and that would be correct, or that love is like bubble gum because it can be stretched out as much as anyone likes. This is why love is intriguing. If everyone knew that love was red with a little spot on it, then it would be limited so much that it would no longer be romantic.
Would you like to thank God for making love invisible? Are you glad that your mind is invisible? Are you glad God made Himself invisible? God is limitless and mysterious, like the ocean depths and the height of the sky. I want you to know that the most precious thing of all is always invisible. Therefore, God can say He is everywhere at the same time. Instead of walking around America and being seen here and there, it's much better that God remain hidden behind a shroud of mystery; with infinite understanding and knowledge, He lets men assume their respective ways of knowing God.
After you talk with a person for one or two hours you can usually know the depth of a shallow man, and there is no more savor to knowing him. The genuine person, however, no matter how much you try to understand him, always has realms that you can never get down to, and he becomes more and more attractive to you. The most precious thing is invisible. The most precious thing about your body is your mind, and it is invisible.
Even though the mind is invisible it doesn't exist independently, hut in response to some origin; therefore, it is a resultant being and is always linked to the source. There is a subject Being out there somewhere, and the original mind always has a tendency to move toward it because the mind is object. Even though invisible, your mind guides you, knowing the direction and goal. The religious way of life is nothing other than being led by the mind toward a certain way of life.
Are we living a religious life in the Unification Church'? The mind always denies the body's desires. Your body may be trying to eat breakfast in the morning but your mind is saying, "Hurry up! Each moment is precious. Go out and do something." The mind is always running ahead of the body. In the morning the mind has a big battle with the body, which wants to rest a little longer. The mind is always ahead, listening to the body complaining. The mind looks back at the body following with closed eyes, saying, "You poor sleepy body. You still have to go on." The mind will lead your body toward one big hill, and once they both go over it then even your body will not turn hack to its original position. That's what we call forming new habits. We push our bodies into certain new habits, and once it is totally disciplined it will not revert back again.
You all like bread, don't you'? You like bread and I like rice because of habit. No one built your bodies like that. If there is fresh hot bread next to a bowl of three-day old rice, I would still choose the rice. After many years you form certain habits, and in the Unification Church our minds are trying to discipline our bodies into certain heavenly habits. The MFT is almost intolerable at first, but after certain habits are formed a person doesn't want to leave. Even when such a person has a holiday, he automatically finds himself going out to fund raise after breakfast is over. You must put yourself through discipline in order to cross over that one important hill and then there is no more problem, for your body will never go back. Each day's journey takes you over higher and higher hills, and at the same time you attain higher and higher goals.
I am like the engineer of a cable car and you are all passengers. You don't actually have to move the train; you just sit inside and watch as you go up the mountains and reach the top. Because you already have a locomotive pulling you the trip is not necessarily all that difficult. I have declared that while this Unification Church cable car is moving toward the ultimate goal, you must be moving around inside doing some job like witnessing, fund raising and evangelizing. Because of this, many people feel fatigued and tired in the Unification Church and after a while they leave because they want to live differently. They go some place where they think they will have all kinds of freedom and fun, but soon they come back and say, "Please accept me." This has happened to many. When you leave, you realize how precious your way of life has been in the Unification Church and how precious a goal we have. You long for it and you have to come back to it. There is real joy and real happiness in striving for that goal.
The three most precious things are the mind, love and God. All these are precious, eternal and absolute, yet invisible. What power will unite them all into one? Invisible love will unite them. In the Unification Church we emphasize knowing that the mind is easily controlled by the invisible God, and that the mind must then control the body. That's the first order of business.
Once your body is totally united with your mind then you instantly have access to the highest truth in the universe. Even using only the limited minds of men, the radio, radar and the computer have been invented. God is much wiser, so how much more can your mind communicate with the invisible origin, God? The mind is invisible so it can take various shapes. The mind might originally be round, but to communicate with God it becomes shaped like a long, slender antenna.
How big is your mind? It is big enough that infinite God can dwell there and still have elbowroom. Did you know that you own a mind that vast?
Did you know there is space enough in your mind to grasp the entire world and still have room left over? A big-minded man is like the vast ocean, even if his body is like a little finger. We must talk big and think big. Have you ever thought that your body could be big as well, big enough to embrace the universe?
How big is America, not in its geographical size, but in its thinking? Americans have not had minds big enough to contain black people, so would you say this is a big country or a small country? America is a small-minded country, without room enough to accommodate black people, but America doesn't like to hear that. Suppose we ask how big Unification Church members are. Do ordinary Americans or Unification Church members have bigger minds? Giving an answer is easy, but actually living up to that answer is not that easy.
Many people ask who Reverend Moon is. To many people I am incomprehensible and this upsets them. I don't want them to figure me out, though. I look like a businessman to some and to others like a religious leader or a cultural promoter or a scholar. To some I am a fisherman. So who am I? People can't figure me out because their scale of thinking is so small that they can't measure me; there isn't a scale big enough to measure me.
American politicians and government people tremble at the power of the media's opinion, but it doesn't bother me. Most people think I must be stretched out in a hospital after being bombarded by so much negative public opinion, but instead I am everywhere. Some people are trying to become champions by waging war against me. They want to fight me so they can become heroes, but that doesn't bother me either. I just turn their challenges around and throw them away, never even giving them a chance to fight. Those who thought that by hitting me they would get some response have found instead that their own power pushed them down. My entire life has been one of incredible opposition, but it doesn't affect me. I just keep striving upward, transcending all the noisy crowds.
What do I have to be proud of? There is one thing that no one else can duplicate: I am the champion of the love of God. God needs one champion who can truly manifest His love and carry it to every corner of the earth, and unless he finds a man like Reverend Moon then certainly that mission cannot be accomplished. God loves the person who loves his own enemy, who tries to save the person who is trying to destroy him. That person is truly qualified to be a champion of God, not the kind of person who fights back.
I never fought back; I came to a hostile country to save it, trying to forgive and educate and nurture it into salvation. People think that I must be so feeble that I cannot last another round, but instead of being knocked out I am moving forward and becoming more prosperous. What is that mysterious power? I am assigned to be champion of the love of God and I have invisible backing. The public only sees the visible things, but this morning we are talking about invisible power. That is what upholds me.
In a pre-commemoration of this True Parents' birthday, fifteen married couples were hand-picked, couples who have been in our movement in Japan for many years. They were invited to Belvedere and yesterday they received the blessing. They are older couples, some of them fifty and sixty years old. Until 1945 they were enemies of Korea, and thus indirectly were enemies of Reverend Moon, but this year I brought them to this country and blessed them as citizens of heaven.
It is truly amazing that now these older Japanese citizens can give up anything for the cause of God and True Parents, including their own nation. Many people who wanted to be blessed were sad because they were not selected, but these couples were chosen because at one time they were in the enemy position. Now their position is completely changed and they wept in joy yesterday, knowing that they could be blessed in heavenly matrimony.
At one time they were subjects of the Japanese emperor, but now they want to receive heavenly instruction and carry it out with their lives. What power made them happy? What principle changed them around like that? Not any power or technique of mine could do that; only the invisible power of God behind me could do it. In love there is not much formality or face-saving. If someone like the President of the United States truly loves one woman, then even he must take his hat off and plead his loving heart to her.
To many American minds Korea is almost nonexistent, like a trashcan in the corner of a beautiful rose garden. Trashcans are needed inside the home and sometimes they are beautifully decorated, but a trashcan beside a rose garden has no attention paid to it. People enjoy the fragrance of the roses in the garden, but ask why that dirty trashcan is there. That has been Korea's position. I came out of that country to America, where people are proud to be citizens. I proclaimed that I came to be a doctor to this sick nation, to be a firefighter for this burning house. What American would like to hear that? Naturally Americans don't feel good about it, but I made that proclamation on purpose, knowing that the response would be hostile. I wanted to provoke America so that by trying to retaliate against me, Americans would realize the power of God.
America was truly a first-class nation until the end of World War II, but in the thirty years since then America's prestige has crumbled. At one time Americans were regarded with awe in Asia, and on the street Orientals looked at Americans with openmouthed admiration. Today everything is changed and American citizens, particularly hippie types, are hardly even regarded as human beings.
Americans needed someone with guts to come to this country and let them rediscover themselves. The judgment of God doesn't come in a beautiful courtroom, but through the humble person God lifts up by His power. That's the way God's power has been manifested throughout history and there is no exception today. I absolutely did not come to destroy America. Not at all. The true purpose of my coming is to awaken this country for greater salvation and bring it back to its true heritage.
You are proof of my intentions because you were part of that crumbling civilization at one time, but today you are America's only hope. You are people of vision. People will see that you were gathered together by the power of God to save this country, not destroy it. Right now they are afraid and feel threatened, but soon Americans will have to welcome you because they will see that there is no other alternative remaining to revive this nation.
People will eventually realize who it is that made you so. I did not do it; it was the invisible God working through me that made you into America's new hope. The power of God is here. The love of God is the power of us all. Even if America perishes and the government is destroyed, the power of God's love will never be tarnished. Americans need more than their government and nation; they need the very love of God.
A miracle is happening in this room right now. To celebrate True Parents' birthday people from five races are gathered together here, but who made this possible? Not I. Cod's will and providence, and above all, the love of God brought you together. Nobody knows your mind except you and you know this is the truth. Maybe no one in New York or in all of America knows, but you and I know where our hearts are. You and 1 know God is dwelling here, working side by side with us.
Once you have God dwelling in your heart, you realize that it is more precious than anything under the sun, more than the nation and the whole world. No matter if a whole nation comes against you, it will not stop you. Even the entire world will not stop you. You have no hesitation because you have something of greater value. In our hearts we pursue the highest value and nothing will take it away. I am armed and toughened by the love of God and whatever difficulty comes doesn't bother me; I can move forward and go beyond it.
If anything is trying to prevent the ultimate fulfillment of the love of God and the hope of mankind, I know I can give my life to defend this cause. That is our credo. We each proudly proclaim, '`I am a champion and defender of the love of God; I am here to stimulate and promote the love of God. Nothing will stop me."
This celebration of Mother's and my birthday is beautiful and precious and I thank you, but as I already mentioned, this is merely one occasion that will spur us on to the fulfillment of the ultimate goal, to defend the love of God for the sake of the world. Today is a day of unity, a day to unite people of all races with the True Parents and march toward the ultimate goal of the love of God. Today we celebrate more than the True Parents' birthday; we celebrate the victory of God. We praise His name and glorify His presence. That is the real meaning of this day.
The Koreans have been very pitiful people for many centuries. That feeble nation has been given tremendous hardship by surrounding powers in its 5,000 year history, but it shall be the eternal pride of Korea that such a nation gave birth to the Unification Church. The history of Korea parallels the 6,000 year history of God's work, and Unification Church history parallels the history of Judaism and Christianity; it is all the continuation of one history. God worked through the Jews as His chosen people 4,000 years ago for the same goal, moving step-by-step toward the fulfillment of His love here on earth. He was working toward the day of Jesus' birth as the day of fulfillment so that ultimately all people could be united with Jesus, celebrating his birthday and at the same time celebrating the glory of God. At that time God was locking for all races from all parts of the world to unite in one common goal, to celebrate that one day and return the glory to God.
Christian history continued for 2,000 years after Judaism and was given ultimate fulfillment by the birth of one nation, America. America is the symbolic Christian nation of the world, in which all races come together in a melting pot. Ultimately America is going to be proud of being God's chosen nation, just as Jews and Christians were supposed to be proud to be God's chosen people. Those ideals of God were not fulfilled, however. Today the danger to America is this: If this nation, conceived in the will of God, fails to fulfill His will, then America shall be ruined and God shall punish this nation. Her destiny is abundantly clear. If the love of God departs from this nation then America has no hope, and then Christianity will also be ruined because it will no longer have a purpose.
In the last days God has chosen one champion, the Unification Church. For thirty years the Unification Church has been the one power chosen by God to stop America from crumbling, and to restore this nation to His original ideal. We have that ideology and faith and truth backing us up. It is our mandate to uphold God's will and His love. We are the champions who must propagate the love of God and His truth. Christianity and the United States are edging closer to utmost ruin and despair, and the time will come when they will desperately look for hope and grab the Unification Church as the only hope remaining. That is the destiny of the world.
The Unification Church is emerging as a tower of strength. The American establishment feels threatened by us and is trying to bury the Unification Church, but instead of the Unification Church being dragged down, it is our opposition which will collapse. That is the phenomenon developing today in America. Last year when we celebrated the True Parents' birthday we finally came back to the zero point between plus and minus. Ever since last year we have been rising, and everything we do will accumulate and become a visible pillar of strength.
All through 1976 and 1977 different people tried to create a false image of Reverend Moon as a Korean government agent. One politically-motivated Congressional committee in particular has been trying to label me as a KCIA operative. All kinds of investigative bodies have been probing, but one by one they are giving up because they have found nothing. First of all, how could Reverend Moon be so small as to be an agent of the Korean government? It's laughable! I wouldn't even think of being an agent of the American CIA. How could they treat me like such a peanut?
All through 1976 and 1977 people were convinced that I brainwash you members. Maybe they thought I have a special gadget, and in order to be converted you go into a dark room and a switch is turned on and your brain is washed. If they ever looked for such a gadget they wouldn't find anything even if they looked for eternity. I see all these charges as a great joke, just like an inflated balloon which pops if a pin makes a tiny hole; nothing is there. Do you think you are my slaves? You have been grabbed by the love of God. You never even saw me when you first joined the Church.
One thing is true; if you are truly a slave of the love of God then you are the happiest person under the sun. That has been my own goal. Whether you are a laborer, merchant or dock worker doesn't make any difference. Ultimately men's hearts crave being slaves of God's love. I am pursuing the same goal,
and I want to be the number one slave of God's love. Even though your hands are raising funds with flowers, they are working for the noble purpose of God's love, to save this world. Your arm is God's arm, and God is using it to recreate this world. There is no value in paying attention to my antagonists, and thus there is no fight. I want you to take pride in that position. It is our joy to be champions and stand for this cause, fighting every day against resistance.
We have already reached for the highest possible value. Are you happy? Do you think I am unhappy? No, I am proud. I am a fighter who has no reservations about his job. I am a tough man because I have the strongest power under the sun: the love of God. What should I fear?
Now you can see why I am giving this particular sermon. We are becoming possessors of God's love and thanksgiving is overflowing in our hearts. Without love no thanksgiving can be complete, and without love the will of God cannot be consummated. Love is almighty and we have ultimate truth in the love of God. That power can unite our minds and bodies together into one, and together with the love of God and God Himself we can truly fulfill His ideal world, No celebration in history equals this one because we stand on a new plateau of awareness of the whole truth.
When you cry and feel sad, God's sadness dwells with you. Every mood you have is always paralleled by God's. When I feel infinitely happy, in that moment God will feel infinitely happy. We are moving forward to create our joyful victory, knowing that God will feel joy in that event. With the love of God we can march forward, and I want you to know that we have hope and joy ahead.
This year of 1978 is truly the year of marching and leaping toward the goal of God's victory. Through this celebration let us unite and become tougher soldiers. Let us ignite the fire of revolution so that truly we can revolutionize this world and create a new one. Let us be harbingers of that world. Can you do it? Those who pledge to God that they can do it, it is your hands. Thank you very much. Let us pray.